Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-05-05
DAILY HERALD.
SEWERAGE.
Recommendation of a
Plan for the Same.
SYNOPSIS OF THE SYSTEM.
The Best Manner to Relieve the
City Of Sewage--Col War
ing Concurs.

City Surveyor Eaton has filed the fol-
lowing report to the Special Sewerage
Committee, which is concurred In by
Col. Waring, who has been investigat-
ing the city for the purpose OF the con-
structiou of system for this city;
TO the Honorable khe Special Committee
on Setceragc Of The City Of Los Aage-
les:
In accordance with the instructions of
your honorable body, ] have examined,
with Col. George Il. WariDg. Jr., the
crounds OF the city and vicinity, in
order to conclude what plan OF seweriug
the city weuld be the most feasible. l
have for more than one year occasionally
-collected data for this purpose, but must
cav that they are too meager TO form q
complete idea Of what the sewerage
systcm should be. Also, the short time
which Col. Wering and myself spent for
:invessigaling the grounds is insufficient
TO explain fully The problem with which
we have to deal.
Your honorable body will, under these
circumstances, kindly receive a report
which will only outline the work which
we have before us, and which will give
you general idea of the sewerage sys.
tenn for our city.
A.--THE DISPOSAL or SEWAGE.
The most successful disposal Of sewage
Is the disposal by irrigation, except
where the sewage can readily be dis.
charged into q large bedy of water, SO
as not to annoy any people living there.
on. Wherever practicable, sewage
should be used for irrigation, from an
economical point Of view. To dispose
Of the sewage into large body of water
IL permanent and continual annihila.
fion Of capital. To use sewage as an
irrigator is capital invested. We have
instances where the sewage as a fertil-
stances. pays fully the current expenses
Of q costly and large system of sewerage,
and this in northerly climate. To use
the sewage of Los Angeles as fertilizer
ought TO prove profitable undertaking.
Commonly, people who are not ia.
miliar with The manner Of disposing Of
the sewage by irrigation, and with the
results obtained. object to this manner
Of disposal, for fear that it might endan.
ger the health of the people living in the
neighborhood Of the sewerage farm.
Experience and authority show that no
bad results are connected with a prop.
erly managed sewage irrigation system.
Meesrs. e. II. Swan. E. G. Clark and
other engineers have recently testified
that effect before the Legislative Com.
a. Drainage Of Massac achusetts, Oh
m,tT a. Wv of Brocton, where the
Dcnan " s.s Ss irrigation will be
tested on . larger scale Than n.-- osen zen
done before in the United States. Vps
climate, however, Is more favorable 70
successful disposal of sewage b. .,r;oa-
tisa chan northern. ono The neces.
sary laluA Can also be secured at
ptopef o stance and in an appropriate 10.
The lands in view are so located
" 4at we can at any time carry the sew
age farther on, until it reaches the ocean,
should we ever be compelled to bring it
there. Several routes to the ocean have
been surveyed by me lest month, and
the most direct one proves to be the
cheapest, although it embraces tunnel.
ing in soft material for about three
miles. The lands spoken of above ex-
tend from the ocean about five miles
alopg the line Of the ou fall sewer to the
ocean. They are entirely surrounded
on the north and west by belt ot hills.
which eifectually cut off all danger Of
contamination of the present water sup.
ply between Los Angeles and the ocean.
To continue the present outfall is not
advisable. The reasons are set forth IN
the following:
The Ball0na creek Is etream which
yields about 8. 900, 900 gallons Of water
per day. and must in the near future fur.
nish the water for domestic purposes
for q large population. Ths watershed
of this supply includes large portion OF
the area occupied by the city OF Los An.
gelss, and most all the lands now irri
gated with sewage. This water-shedlis
all unaerlaid with gravel. which will
carry large portion of the water Of this
shed directly to the stream. The pres.
ent olifall sewer, extended, would, how
ever, yield quite portion of the fluid
conveyed to the creek, which might lead
tn complications with the numerous
owners residing thereon This point
ought to he seriously considered, es-
pecially since we are in position to
avoid all possible danger and complica.
tions by using lands near the ocean, to
which we have above referred have
called the attention of Col. Wsring to
the above facts and he substantially
supported my views.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE SYSTEM.
The next most important point to con.
slider is that Of the general outlet for the
city. Ii we have decided upon that,
and after your honorable body has acted
upon the reports and recommendations
OF your engineers, we can at once begin
with the design and construction of the
sewerage system. of those districts OF the
city which need to bs drained at once.
The point at which the sewage of the
entire city, excepting an area Of about
$40 acres at the southeast corner of the
city. can be collected and discharged by
gravity, Is at the southwest corner of
The corporate limits of the city. The
sewage delivered by this area of 640
acres must either be separately dis
charged On lands, or be pumped for a
height of about twenty-five feet into the
main system; the latter of the two meth.
DDS will in all probability prove the most
practicable one.
To convey the sewage of the city to
the outlet we will divide the city into
five or six districts, the limits of which
are given by the topography Of tho couu-
try, aud which districts can only be de-
with accuracy when our to-
biographical survey Of the city is COM
plcted. All further details can then be
spoken Of and planned also.
The amount OF sewage per head per
day on which we have to base our cal
cannot be safely assumed at |
less than 100 gallons; the present flow |
Of sewage at the outlet and the observa-
lions made by me while connected with |
The city water works were the guides |
Tor the above figure. This average flow
y, during some hours of the day, ex-
cesding 30 percent, and we must, there
tore, make provision in the design of
the whole sewerage system for maxi.